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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. bark — to shout
  3. cap — of ice
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. cap — a lid
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. pound — a weight
  8. net — for catching
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. spring — of water
  12. court — of a king
  13. cap — a hat
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. spring — the season
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. wake — a trail
  18. net — after costs
  19. spring — a coil
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. net — in sport
  23. court — of law
  24. pound — for dogs

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com